CRUISER BROTHERS' GX 460 TEST TRUCK (1 Viewer)

[wardharris]

SHOP TRUCK & DAILY DRIVER - Introduction/Purchase

Introduction
I am co-owner of a product import firm serving offroad Toyotas and other brands with repair kits, parts and accessories. My partner, Georg Esterer @orangefj45, is also owner of a Land Cruiser build/service shop in Stockton, CA - Valley Hybrids.

As I currently live in Washington State, there is a lot of highway back and forth and it was time for a new all-around personal vehicle to deal with paved, unpaved, wheeling, towing, etc. along with a dose of product development.

We considered a new or used 200 but decided to go with something a little smaller for city use. We had owned a new GX 470 15 years ago and liked the idea of a more modern/updated version of that platform.

One source of inspiration during purchase deliberations is this thread from @TRD83 - GX460 Build Thread

I share the truck with my wife, so it is going to be a slow/moderate build, and the truck will be used to test, develop and enjoy products from our own portfolio of solutions and those of our partners and friends.

Purchase
Did a fair big of research and concluded we did not want first year of production, or the later style grille, just as a personal preference.

Found a Certified Pre Owned 2013 in low-glow white with 40,000 miles and a price well under Carfax and KBB market retail estimates. It just happened to be at the Lexus dealer nearest to our home. We were headed to Costco so we stopped off at Lexus of Seattle just to take a look and left two hours later with a "new" car.

The car had been in stock for four months with multiple price reductions......

Checked in, got a sales guy and we went out to take a look and opened the door and was hit with a combination of dog smell and carpet deodorizer.....ugh. We took a drive with the windows open and bought it for $32,000.

Took it home, ordered an ozone generator and two days later, owned a no-smell car.

Here are some shots of the beast at what passes for a "mall" on Whidbey Island.

Next Up: Project Planning, Wheels & Tires.

 

[lowlight]

May I suggest FN BFD or Six Shooter wheels + BFG KO2 tires, totally transform the look of your GX

 

[wardharris]

May I suggest FN BFD or Six Shooter wheels + BFG KO2 tires, totally transform the look of your GX

Excellent suggestions! Already pulled the trigger on wheels/tires and FN were on the list, but we went with Evo Corse plus the BFG KO2s you suggested. Will post up in a day or two.

Thanks!

 

[bjowett]

Ward, looks great. Does it have the tow package?

 

[wardharris]

Ward, looks great. Does it have the tow package?

Thanks, Brian. I don't think it was a package, but a dealer-installed receiver as here/below.

Lexus GX460 (2010-2018) OEM Genuine TOW TOWING HITCH RECEIVER PT228-60140 | eBay

 

[bjowett]

Ok, if it does not have the tow package, then I recommend you look at sourcing a front mount oil to air ATF cooler.

 

[wardharris]

PROJECT PLANNING, WHEELS & TIRES

PROJECT PLANNING
As above, this vehicle is a daily driver, tower, soft wheeler - not a trail rig. It is also a development rig for our import and distribution of parts and accessories from Australia - Terrain Tamer, Harrop, Long Range Automotive and Wholesale Automatic Transmissions. Our primary interests are EOM quality (or better) replacement parts like Terrain Tamer HP brake kits (slotted/drilled rotors and pads), Harrop / Eaton elockers, LRA long-range fuel tanks and WAT transmission upgrades - modified valve body and torque converter lock-up kit.

We will install components that are already on the shelf (brakes and elocker) and use the truck to develop, adapt and fine-tune new products (fuel tanks and transmission bits). For us, the GX and 4Runner market is a large and under-served segment for the product lines we support. Segmented by model and generations, there are 850,000 "early" models (see sales figures below by year) and 750,000 "late" models. We have several "early" rigs carrying our components as development rigs (thanks to @DanKunz and Danny Cahn) and my 460 will be the "first install" for new items for the later trucks.

Sales Figures by Year (US)

For these reasons, I went looking for a base truck without MTS, adjustable suspension, crawl control, driver assist, all-around, cameras, radar cruise or premium sound - just a boring, basic truck to play with. The goal was a base truck that needed some help with targeted upgrades.

We found what we were looking for and also scored the OEM tow receiver in the deal.

WHEELS & TIRES
Driving the GX for a while, I realized the 18" wheels and low profile tires needed to go. Not enough sidewall and the OEM style tires were lousy on snow and slush.

The tire decision was easy - BFG KO2s in 265/70 17s. The wheels also pretty easy as we are quite fond of Evo Corse Dakars via Main Line Overland. Have three sets of them and like the look.

Have had them on the truck for six months with the stock suspension. Ride, traction, noise, handling, all good. A little bit of plastic scrub, but that was expected ahead of suspension mods.

EVO CORSE DAKARZERO 17x8" TOYOTA Tacoma/FJ Cruiser/4Runner/GX460 ET:0

Here is the truck with new shoes......

Next Up: Vinyl Wrap

 

[wardharris]

Ok, if it does not have the tow package, then I recommend you look at sourcing a front mount oil to air ATF cooler.

No, just the receiver add-on. Fine with us and it fits with our development agenda.

Georg and I have worked with Rodney Hudson-Davies and the crew at Wholesale Automatic Transmission to put their transmission line on the shelf here in USA as their agent. The current offering is being expanded with new and customized options for US rigs. We are also supporting JDM imports and other non-US rigs with rebuilt, replacement transmissions and also automatic swap packages.

The offering includes Wholesale Automatics cross-flow AT oil coolers. Here is @orangefj45 fondling a cooler at our most recent meeting with Rodney in Bayswater, VIC in February. We will have these on hand with our next stock order.

 

[bjowett]

Nice. Maybe the Prado 150 kit will fit.

 

[wardharris]

VINYL WRAP - Part One

WHY
This is a business truck and we want to share good news on the road and at events. We have wrapped several vehicles and wanted something focused - with mention of our Cruiser Brothers brand. My long-suffering spouse drives the vehicle as well and asked that we keep it "tasteful and professional" so that was to mission - information, not promotion.

WHO
Our friends at Wicked Wraps in Mukilteo, Washington www.wickedwraps.net are great to work with and deliver a great product. Katherine Becher is the designer/business manager and her husband Wade is the head wizard when it comes to implementation of the vision.

The Bechers do awesome work - not just box trucks and hot rods. Here is one of their airborne projects.

HOW
The process is pretty straightforward - client (me) has an idea, Katherine cleans it up and we come up with a budget.

In our case, the idea of a "full wrap" was not going to work given wife's "tasteful" requirement. My big thing was a desire to de-bling the rear barn door and make that the focal point, adding a dark background to make the message "pop" to give following drivers a succinct message about who we are and what we offer.

Here is the OEM trim shown in a stock photo of a 2014+ model. Minor differences in the tail lights and bumper cover.

Here is my DIY design with logos - TMI and too many images, but with the Lexus badges gone and the chrome plastic trim above/below plate holder wrapped.

And the Wicked Wraps proposed design - cleaned up, no images, more information.

And here is the grand reveal with wife Lois and Katherine.....

 

[wardharris]

VINYL WRAP - Part Two

Here are the draft images for sides and hood.....

And here is the finished product......

 

[wardharris]

Nice. Maybe the Prado 150 kit will fit.

Hopefully, but if not, will modify to suit. We will have vehicle-specific kits for US vehicles - just as we are adapting the kits/instructions for other WAT and LRA products.

 

[wardharris]

Ok, if it does not have the tow package, then I recommend you look at sourcing a front mount oil to air ATF cooler.

Nice. Maybe the Prado 150 kit will fit.

I haven't seen any US 460s with stock front mount oil to air ATF coolers. Tow package is just the hitch and associated trailer wiring. That being said the top trim Canadian models come with one. That Wholesale Automatics cross-flow AT oil cooler posted below looks very interesting.

Interesting.... We are bringing in a mix of AU spec ATF coolers from Wholesale Automatics to see how they cross-over to US rigs. Will start with GX 470, GX 460, 200 Series and go from there. We have the AB60F valve body and torque converter lock up kits in Tundras as well so we will adapt a WAT cooler kit for the big trucks as well. After that, older LCs, Tacomas and 4Runners.

"There are 8 million stories in the Toyota market, this has been one of them"

 

[wardharris]

In case you were wondering about the color choice, Seattle Police patrol livery from the 1970s - so many memories.....

 

[Nomad_K]

I hope you are enjoying the new 'cruiser and I am excited to see another GX460 build and new parts coming to the market! Although I got a great deal on a locked and geared 4Runner I am still looking at GX460's... I like the looks and love the torque curve and responsiveness of the V8 and the 6 speed.

Are the valve body and torque converter upgrades targeted for a particular type of driving (towing, on road, off on trails) or all around? I don't know if there have been any programming changes between 2010 and now but the 2014 GX I test drove seemed to shift better (smooth and solid) vs an early 2010 or 2011 model (not terrible relative to a truck but not as smooth as the newer GX or an LX). The 2011 didn't have a detailed service history though so it may have just needed some maintenance.

 

[wardharris]

The VB and TC kits are designed to benefit any / all of the uses listed - don't know about programming changes, but the VB kit will definitely make a difference in duration of shift and TC lock.

 

[wardharris]

Terrain Tamer Pro suspension and Terrain Tamer HP brakes went on at MULE Expedition yesterday.

Sits better, rides better, stops better....done!

Sits level now, no more rubbing.

BEFORE

AFTER #1

AFTER #2

 

[wardharris]

There is a TSB for 2010 & early 2011 for programming changes on 460 AT.

Thanks!

 

[Jetboy]

Any info on why the Harrop is so expensive. It's obviously an Eaton unit. Typically they're half the price for the Eaton models. Is it something special or just an artifact of being low production numbers?

 

[wardharris]

Any info on why the Harrop is so expensive. It's obviously an Eaton unit. Typically they're half the price for the Eaton models. Is it something special or just an artifact of being low production numbers?

Good question.

No question it is an Eaton unit - licensed by Harrop from Eaton as a regional master distributor. This means that Harrop Engineering has the right to use the Eaton 4-pinion design to build specialized versions of the Eaton design for use in Toyota and other makes not supported by Eaton. Harrop purchases some components from Eaton (shafts, gears, etc.) and machines other items in Australia, with final assembly in Australia as well.

So, yes - low volume and hand made.